Reuters: Biden administration seeks step-by-step revival of JCPOA

The US return to the nuclear deal and Iran's return to its commitments under the JCPOA have reached an impasse, despite media messages from both countries. It is said that the Biden administration intends to implement a policy of gradually revitalizing the JCPOA to break this impasse.

The issue of the US returning to the nuclear deal is one of the major foreign policy challenges of the Joe Biden administration. Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Biden administration “is looking to pursue a policy of gradual resolution of differences to buy time.”

The goal of implementing the policy of gradually revitalizing the nuclear agreement is to neutralize the consequences of Donald Trump's policy of withdrawing the United States from the agreement.

It has been said that the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 has brought the Islamic Republic "closer to achieving nuclear weapons."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also recently warned about the imminent danger of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

According to the new US administration policy, the Iranian government can enjoy some of the economic benefits of the nuclear agreement.

Reuters has reported that Iran's access to economic benefits under this policy would be lower than when the nuclear deal was signed. In return, the Islamic Republic would be required to return to the commitments foreseen in the nuclear deal.

Reuters continues its report by saying that Joe Biden has not yet made a definitive decision on Iran. He had previously said that America's adherence to the obligations arising from the nuclear deal is conditional on Iran fully returning to its commitments under the JCPOA.

This is despite the Islamic Republic having also announced that Iran would only return to implementing its JCPOA commitments once the US lifted sanctions.

One of the aforementioned informed sources told Reuters that the reason for adopting a policy of gradually revitalizing the nuclear agreement is that the United States considers resolving the dispute with the Islamic Republic over Iran's nuclear activities to be a time-consuming matter.

Therefore, implementing such a policy could prevent an increase in tension between the United States and Iran and provide the parties with the necessary time to reach this agreement.

Source: DW